Aims
CD
30 immunohistochemistry (
IHC
) in malignant lymphoma is used for selection of patients in clinical trials using brentuximab vedotin, an antibody drug‐conjugate targeting the
CD
30 molecule. ...For reliable implementation in daily practice and meaningful selection of patients for clinical trials, information on technical variation and interobserver reproducibility of
CD
30 immunohistochemistry (
IHC
) staining is required.
Methods and results
We conducted a three‐round reproducibility assessment of
CD
30 scoring for categorised frequency and intensity, including a technical validation, a ‘live polling’ pre‐ and post‐instruction scoring round and a web‐based round including individual scoring with additional
IHC
information to mimic daily diagnostic practice. Agreement in all three scoring rounds was poor to fair (κ = 0.12–0.35 for
CD
30‐positive tumour cell percentage and κ = 0.16–0.41 for staining intensity), even when allowing for one category of freedom in percentage of tumour cell positivity (κ = 0.30–0.61). The first round with
CD
30 staining performed in five independent laboratories showed objective differences in staining intensity. In the second round, approximately half the pathologists changed their opinion on
CD
30 frequency after a discussion on potential pitfalls, highlighting hesitancy in decision‐making. Using fictional cut‐off points for percentage of tumour cell positivity, agreement was still suboptimal (κ = 0.35–0.60).
Conclusions
Lack of agreement in cases with heterogeneous expression is shown to influence patient eligibility for treatment with brentuximab vedotin, both in clinical practice and within the context of clinical trials, and limits the potential predictive value of the relative frequency of
CD
30‐positive neoplastic cells for clinical response.
The HOVON cooperative study group performed a feasibility study of escalated imatinib and intravenous cytarabine in 165 patients with early chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Patients ...received 2 cycles of intravenous cytarabine (200 mg/m2 or 1000 mg/m2 days 1-7) in conjunction with imatinib (200 mg, 400 mg, 600 mg, or 800 mg), according to predefined, successive dose levels. All dose levels proved feasible. Seven dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were observed in 302 cycles of chemotherapy, which were caused by streptococcal bacteremia in 5 cases. Intermediate-dose cytarabine (1000 mg/m2) prolonged time to neutrophil recovery and platelet recovery compared with a standard dose (200 mg/m2). High-dose imatinib (600 mg or 800 mg) extended the time to platelet recovery compared with a standard dose (400 mg). More infectious complications common toxicity criteria (CTC) grade 3 or 4 were observed after intermediate-dose cytarabine compared with a standard-dose of cytarabine. Early response data after combination therapy included a complete cytogenetic response in 48% and a major molecular response in 30% of patients, which increased to 46% major molecular responses at 1 year, including 13% complete molecular responses. We conclude that combination therapy of escalating dosages of imatinib and cytarabine is feasible. This study was registered at www.kankerbestrijding.nl as no. CKTO-2001-03.
Consensus Panel 1 (CP1) of the 11
International Workshop on Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia (IWWM-11) was tasked with updating guidelines for the management of symptomatic, treatment-naïve patients ...with WM. The panel reiterated that watchful waiting remains the gold standard for asymptomatic patients without critically elevated IgM or compromised hematopoietic function. For first-line treatment, chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) regimens such as dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, rituximab (DRC), or bendamustine, rituximab (Benda-R) continue to play a central role in managing WM, as they are effective, of fixed duration, generally well-tolerated, and affordable. Covalent BTK inhibitors (cBTKi) offer a continuous, generally well-tolerated alternative for the primary treatment of WM patients, particularly those unsuitable for CIT. In a Phase III randomized trial updated at IWWM-11, the second-generation cBTKi, zanubrutinib, was less toxic than ibrutinib and induced deeper remissions, thus categorizing zanubrutinib as a suitable treatment option in WM. While the overall findings of a prospective, randomized trial updated at IWWM-11 did not show superiority of fixed duration rituximab maintenance over observation following attainment of a major response to Benda-R induction, a subset analysis showed benefit in patients >65 years and those with a high IPPSWM score. Whenever possible, the mutational status of MYD88 and CXCR4 should be determined before treatment initiation, as alterations in these 2 genes predict sensitivity towards cBTKi activity. Treatment approaches for WM-associated cryoglobulins, cold agglutinins, AL amyloidosis, Bing-Neel syndrome (BNS), peripheral neuropathy, and hyperviscosity syndrome follow the common principle of reducing tumor and abnormal protein burden rapidly and deeply to improve symptoms. In BNS, ibrutinib can be highly active and produce durable responses. In contrast, cBTKi are not recommended for treating AL amyloidosis. The panel emphasized that continuous improvement of treatment options for symptomatic, treatment-naïve WM patients critically depends on the participation of patients in clinical trials, whenever possible.
Patients with mantle-cell lymphoma who have a relapse after chemotherapy and anti-CD20 and BTK inhibitor therapy have a poor prognosis. An injection of CD19-directed CAR T cells induced a complete ...response in 59% of patients; 78% with a complete response were in remission at 1 year. About two thirds of patients had serious adverse events, a finding consistent with previous data.
Achieving a metabolic complete response (mCR) before high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous peripheral blood stem-cell transplant (auto-PBSCT) predicts progression free survival (PFS) in ...relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL). We added brentuximab vedotin (BV) to DHAP to improve the mCR rate. In a Phase I dose-escalation part in 12 patients, we showed that BV-DHAP is feasible. This Phase II study included 55 R/R cHL patients (23 primary refractory). Treatment consisted of three 21-day cycles of BV 1.8 mg/kg on day 1, and DHAP (dexamethasone 40mg days 1-4, cisplatin 100mg/m2; day 1 and cytarabine 2x2g/m2; day 2). Patients with a metabolic partial response (mPR) or mCR proceeded to HDC/auto-PBSCT. Based on independent central FDG-PET-CT review, 42 of 52 evaluable patients (81% 95% CI: 67-90) achieved an mCR before HDC/auto-PBSCT, five had an mPR and five had progressive disease (three were not evaluable). After HDC/auto-PBSCT, four patients with an mPR converted to an mCR. The 2-year PFS was 74% 95% CI: 63-86, and the overall survival 95% 95% CI: 90-100. Toxicity was manageable and mainly consisted of grade 3/4 hematological toxicity, fever, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity (grade 1/2) and transiently elevated liver enzymes during BV-DHAP. Eighteen patients developed new onset peripheral neuropathy (maximum grade 1/2) and all recovered. In conclusion, BV-DHAP is a very effective salvage regimen in R/R cHL patients, but patients should be monitored closely for toxicity. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02280993.
Aims
Subclassification of large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) is challenging due to the overlap in histopathological, immunophenotypical and genetic data. In particular, the criteria to separate diffuse ...large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and high‐grade B cell lymphoma (HGBL) are difficult to apply in practice. The Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium previously reported a cohort of over 5000 LBCL that included fluorescence in‐situ hybridisation (FISH) data. This cohort contained 209 cases with MYC rearrangement that were available for a validation study by a panel of eight expert haematopathologists of how various histopathological features are used.
Methods and results
Digital whole slide images of haematoxylin and eosin‐stained sections allowed the pathologists to visually score cases independently as well as participate in virtual joint review conferences. Standardised consensus guidelines were formulated for scoring histopathological features and included overall architecture/growth pattern, presence or absence of a starry‐sky pattern, cell size, nuclear pleomorphism, nucleolar prominence and a range of cytological characteristics. Despite the use of consensus guidelines, the results show a high degree of discordance among the eight expert pathologists. Approximately 50% of the cases lacked a majority score, and this discordance spanned all six histopathological features. Moreover, none of the histological variables aided in prediction of MYC single versus double/triple‐hit or immunoglobulin‐partner FISH‐based designations or clinical outcome measures.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that there are no specific conventional morphological parameters that help to subclassify MYC‐rearranged LBCL or select cases for FISH analysis, and that incorporation of FISH data is essential for accurate classification and prognostication.
In the primary analysis of the pivotal JULIET trial of tisagenlecleucel, an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, the best overall response rate was 52% and the ...complete response rate was 40% in 93 evaluable adult patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas. We aimed to do a long-term follow-up analysis of the clinical outcomes and correlative analyses of activity and safety in the full adult cohort.
In this multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 trial (JULIET) done at 27 treatment sites in ten countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the USA), adult patients (≥18 years) with histologically confirmed relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas who were ineligible for, did not consent to, or had disease progression after autologous haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–1 at screening, were enrolled. Patients received a single intravenous infusion of tisagenlecleucel (target dose 5 × 108 viable transduced CAR T cells). The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ie, the proportion of patients with a best overall disease response of a complete response or partial response using the Lugano classification, as assessed by an independent review committee) at any time post-infusion and was analysed in all patients who received tisagenlecleucel (the full analysis set). Safety was analysed in all patients who received tisagenlecleucel. JULIET is registered with ClinialTrials.gov, NCT02445248, and is ongoing.
Between July 29, 2015, and Nov 2, 2017, 167 patients were enrolled. As of Feb 20, 2020, 115 patients had received tisagenlecleucel infusion and were included in the full analysis set. At a median follow-up of 40·3 months (IQR 37·8–43·8), the overall response rate was 53·0% (95% CI 43·5–62·4; 61 of 115 patients), with 45 (39%) patients having a complete response as their best overall response. The most common grade 3–4 adverse events were anaemia (45 39%), decreased neutrophil count (39 34%), decreased white blood cell count (37 32%), decreased platelet count (32 28%), cytokine release syndrome (26 23%), neutropenia (23 20%), febrile neutropenia (19 17%), hypophosphataemia (15 13%), and thrombocytopenia (14 12%). The most common treatment-related serious adverse events were cytokine release syndrome (31 27%), febrile neutropenia (seven 6%), pyrexia (six 5%), pancytopenia (three 3%), and pneumonia (three 3%). No treatment-related deaths were reported.
Tisagenlecleucel shows durable activity and manageable safety profiles in adult patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas. For patients with large B-cell lymphomas that are refractory to chemoimmunotherapy or relapsing after second-line therapies, tisagenlecleucel compares favourably with respect to risk–benefit relative to conventional therapeutic approaches (eg, salvage chemotherapy).
Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Bing Neel syndrome is a rare disease manifestation of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia that results from infiltration of the central nervous system by malignant lymphoplasmacytic cells. In this ...guideline we describe the clinical symptoms, as well as the appropriate laboratory and radiological studies, that can aid in the diagnosis. The presentation of Bing Neel syndrome may be very diverse, and includes headaches, cognitive deficits, paresis, and psychiatric symptoms. The syndrome can present in patients with known Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, even in the absence of systemic progression, but also in previously undiagnosed patients. Diagnostic work-up should include cerebral spinal fluid analysis with multiparameter flow cytometry to establish B-cell clonality, protein electrophoresis and immunofixation for the detection and classification of a monoclonal protein as well as molecular diagnostic testing for immunoglobulin gene rearrangement and mutated MYD88. MRI of the brain and spinal cord is also essential. The second challenge is to expand our knowledge of prognosis and treatment outcome. Prospective clinical trials on Bing Neel syndrome patients that employ uniform treatment along with appropriate laboratory cerebral spinal fluid assessments and standardized MRI protocols will be invaluable, constituting a significant step forward in delineating treatment outcome for this intriguing disease manifestation.
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